Chapter 21 The Summons (Brynn POV)
The formal letter arrived the next morning via courier.
I was eating breakfast in the dining hall with Harper when a man in a dark suit approached our table. He moved with the controlled grace that marked him as supernatural wolf, definitely, though his scent was carefully neutral.
"Brynn Calloway?" His voice was professionally bland.
"That's me."
He placed a heavy envelope on the table cream-colored paper with a wax seal bearing an embossed wolf's head. "Delivery from Alpha Marcus Hale of the Steelclaw Pack. Signature required."
My hand shook as I signed his tablet. He nodded once and left without another word.
Harper stared at the envelope like it was a live grenade. "Don't open it here. Too many people watching."
She was right. Several students had noticed the formal delivery, phones already out to capture whatever drama was about to unfold.
We grabbed our trays and headed back to our dorm. Once the door was locked behind us, I broke the wax seal and pulled out a single sheet of heavy letterhead.
Miss Brynn Calloway,
You are cordially invited to attend dinner at the Steelclaw Estate on Saturday, November 23rd, at 7:00 PM. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss matters of mutual interest regarding your family heritage and future opportunities.
Your presence is requested. A car will be sent to collect you at 6:30 PM from Ashford Heights Academy's main entrance. Attire is business formal.
I look forward to making your acquaintance.
Respectfully,
Alpha Marcus Hale
Steelclaw Pack
I read it twice, trying to find the threat hidden in the polite language. But it was all there in what wasn't said the "requested" presence that was really a command, the "matters of mutual interest" that probably meant the blood debt, the formal tone that made it impossible to refuse without causing offense.
"Saturday." Harper checked her calendar. "That's in five days."
"Five days to decide whether to walk into the lion's den or refuse and wait for the lion to come here." I set the letter down. "Great options."
"We need to call your dad. And Jaxon. Right now."
She was already dialing before I could respond. My father answered on the second ring.
"Brynn? What's wrong?"
"I got a letter from Alpha Hale. He wants me at his estate Saturday night."
The silence on the other end was deafening.
"Read me the exact wording," he said finally.
I did, hearing him typing in the background as I spoke.
"Absolutely not." His tone left no room for argument. "You're not going anywhere near Steelclaw territory."
"Dad"
"No. This isn't negotiable. He'll execute you the moment you step on his land, or worse, he'll use Alpha command to force immediate submission. Either way, you don't walk out of that meeting."
"But if I refuse"
"Then he'll have to go through proper channels. Council oversight, formal hearings, legal procedures that buy us time." Papers rustled. "I'm filing an injunction today. By tomorrow, he'll have official notice that any contact with you must go through Council mediation."
"How long will that take?"
"Weeks. Maybe months." He paused. "Long enough for me to build a real case instead of sending my daughter into a trap."
Harper had been typing on her laptop. "Mr. Calloway, the invitation specifically says 'requested.' Couldn't Alpha Hale argue that refusing a polite request is acting in bad faith?"
"Let him argue. I'd rather fight him in Council chambers than at his estate where he controls everything." My father's voice was firm. "Brynn, promise me you won't accept this invitation."
"I promise." But even as I said it, I wondered if I'd be able to keep that promise.
After we hung up, Harper showed me what she'd been researching. "Your dad's right that Alpha Hale controls his territory completely. But there's a problem if you refuse a direct invitation from an Alpha, it can be seen as disrespectful. That gives him grounds to escalate."
"Escalate how?"
"By coming here. Ashford Heights is neutral ground, but that doesn't mean he can't visit. He could show up demanding to speak with you, and the school would have to accommodate him."
"So either I go to him or he comes to me. Those are my options."
"Pretty much." Harper closed her laptop. "Unless your dad's injunction works. But even then, that's just delaying the inevitable."
A knock on the door. Jaxon entered without waiting, his expression tense.
"You got the letter." Not a question.
"This morning." I held it up. "Your father moves fast."
"He's been planning this since Cole confirmed what you are." Jaxon sat on Harper's desk chair, running a hand through his hair. "I tried to talk him out of it. Told him you weren't ready, that forcing a meeting would backfire. He didn't listen."
"What does he want? Really?"
"To assess you. To verify that you're actually Bloodrose and not just some wolf with similar characteristics. To determine whether you're worth claiming or easier to eliminate."
The casual way he said "eliminate" sent ice through my veins.
"And what do you think I should do?" I asked.
"I think you should refuse. Let your father file his injunction, force my father to work through proper channels." Jaxon met my gaze. "But I also think that if you refuse, he'll come here. And a meeting on campus, surrounded by human students and teachers, could be more dangerous than one at his estate."
"How could it be more dangerous? He controls his estate completely."
"But he's also bound by hospitality laws there. Once you accept his invitation and enter his territory as a guest, he can't harm you without violating ancient pack protocols." Jaxon stood, pacing. "Here, on neutral ground, those rules don't apply. He could corner you anywhere parking lot, empty classroom, wherever and force a confrontation without consequences."
"So you're saying I should go?"
"I'm saying both options are terrible, and I don't know which is worse." He stopped pacing. "What I do know is that my father wants this meeting, and he'll make it happen one way or another. The only question is whether you have any control over the circumstances."
Harper had been quiet, but now she spoke up. "What if Brynn doesn't go alone? What if she brings people her father, me, Jaxon? Witnesses who can verify what happens?"
"My father's letter said 'your presence is requested,' not 'you and guests are invited.'" Jaxon pulled out his phone, showing us a text. "He made it very clear this is a one-on-one meeting. Anyone else shows up, and he'll refuse to meet at all."
"But he can't prevent her from having someone wait outside, right?" Harper was thinking out loud. "Someone nearby in case things go wrong?"
"Define 'nearby.' His estate is twenty miles from campus, surrounded by pack territory. Anyone waiting would be on his land, subject to his authority." Jaxon pocketed his phone. "Trust me, my father has thought through every contingency. This invitation is designed to isolate Brynn completely."
I looked at the letter again, seeing it for what it really was not an invitation, but a test. Would I come willingly, showing submission? Or would I refuse, forcing him to escalate and proving I was difficult to control?
"I have one week to decide," I said finally. "Can we table this discussion until after I deal with more immediate crises?"
"What's more immediate than an Alpha trying to claim you?" Jaxon asked.
"The chemistry exam Friday. If I fail, I lose my scholarship and get expelled before Alpha Hale's dinner even happens." I pulled out my phone, showing them my current grade. "I'm barely passing Blake's class. One bad exam and I'm done at Ashford Heights."
Harper and Jaxon exchanged glances.
"You're worried about chemistry while an Alpha is threatening your life?" Harper's tone was incredulous.
"I'm worried about both. Because what's the point of surviving Alpha Hale if I lose my spot at school anyway?" I grabbed my backpack. "I have study group in twenty minutes. Can we talk about the invitation later?"
"Brynn" Jaxon started.
"Later. Please." I headed for the door. "I need to focus on what I can control right now. And right now, that's memorizing formulas and not failing chemistry."
I left before either of them could argue, heading to the library where Tyler had organized a study session for anyone struggling with Blake's class.
But I couldn't focus. My mind kept drifting back to the letter, to the impossible choice it represented, to the ticking clock counting down to Saturday night.
Tyler noticed. "You're not even looking at the practice problems."
"Sorry. Distracted."
"By what? Because if it's the material, I can explain again. But if it's something else..." He glanced around the table at the other students. "Maybe you need a break?"
"I need to pass this exam." I forced myself to focus on the worksheet. "Walk me through problem seven again?"
He did, patiently explaining the steps while I tried to absorb information through the fog of stress and fear. Around us, other students worked through their own problems, completely unaware that one of them was being summoned by an Alpha who might kill her.
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number:
The invitation stands. I hope you'll make the wise choice. - MH
Alpha Hale himself, following up to make sure I'd received his letter. Making sure I understood that ignoring him wasn't an option.
I turned my phone face-down and forced myself back to the chemistry problems.
Equilibrium constants. Acid-base reactions. Titration curves. None of it mattered if I was dead or enslaved by next week, but I worked through the problems anyway because at least this was something I could study for, something with clear right and wrong answers.
"You good?" Tyler asked after an hour of struggling through practice problems.
"Not even a little bit." I closed my textbook. "But I'll figure it out. I always do."
Except this time, I wasn't sure I would. The chemistry exam was Friday. The Alpha's dinner was Saturday. And I was caught between two impossible deadlines with no good options for either.
Harper found me in the library after study group ended. "Your dad called again. The Council accepted his injunction filing but said it'll take three days to process. That means Alpha Hale technically has until Saturday to make direct contact without violating the order."
"So the injunction doesn't actually help."
"Not in the short term. But it does mean that after Saturday, he'll need Council approval for any further contact." She sat beside me. "Which is good, I guess?"
"Unless he just claims me at Saturday's dinner and makes the whole injunction pointless." I rubbed my temples. "Did my dad have any other brilliant ideas?"
"He suggested asking Jaxon to talk to his father. Use the mate bond as leverage to request more time."
"Because that worked so well before." I started packing up my study materials. "No, if I'm going to deal with this, I need to do it myself. Make my own decisions instead of letting everyone else decide my future."
"Even if that decision is walking into an Alpha's territory alone?"
"I don't know yet. Ask me Friday after I either pass or fail chemistry." I stood, shouldering my backpack. "Right now, I need to focus on surviving the next three days. Everything else can wait."
But as we walked back to the dorm, I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out faster than I could handle. The chemistry exam loomed like a hurdle I might trip over. And beyond that, Saturday's dinner waited like a trap I couldn't avoid.
One week to decide my fate. One exam to determine if I'd even have the chance to make that decision.
And me, caught in the middle, trying desperately to pass chemistry while an Alpha waited patiently to claim me.